Terror struck Delhi when a powerful bomb placed in a briefcase ripped through a crowded reception area at the entrance of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday morning, killing 11 people and leaving more than 80 injured. This is the second blast outside Delhi HC since May.

The blast occurred around 10:15 am outside Gate Number 5 close to the reception area where visitors had lined up for entry passes.

A group by the name Harkat-ul-Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast. The mail claimed that the blast was carried out to demand repeal of death sentence of Afzal Guru, a condemned prisoner in 2001 Parliament attack.

PM admits to security lapses

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returned from a two-day Dhaka visit on Wednesday, met the victims of Delhi High Court blast at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

Singh said there were "some leads" to the blast but it was too early to say which group was behind it.

There were "weaknesses" in the security system that needed to be plugged, he said while speaking to reporters on board his special aircraft while returning home after a two-day visit to Dhaka.

"Several mechanisms were put in place after the Mumbai blasts... there are weaknesses in our system, we must work hard to plug the weaknesses," the prime minister said.

Singh said he was confident that India would win the war against terror. "I am confident that this is a war we will and we must win," he said.

IED blast

Delhi Police has now confirmed to Headlines Today that ammonium nitrate inside an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the blast. An eyewitness told Headlines Today that he saw a man planting the briefcase and fleeing from the spot, moments before the blast.

Sources in the MHA indicate that traces of powerful explosive PETN have been traced at the blast site.

NIA and forensic teams have already reached the spot. The injured have been taken to Ram Manohar Lohia, Safdarjung and AIIMS hospitals.

On May 25, a low-intensity explosive went off near Gate Number 7 of the Delhi High Court. Experts believe the May 25 attack may have been a dry run for a bigger attack.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the blast was of "high intensity" and called it a "terrorist attack". The blast also left a 3-4 feet crater at the site of the explosion. Chidambaram said it was not possible to identify the group behind the attack.

Union Home Ministry sources said the death toll has risen to 11. Sixty-five persons were injured out of whom 15 are in a serious condition, the sources said.

Sketches released

Investigating agencies released sketches of two suspects, who planted the explosive laden suitcase.

One of the suspects is believed to be 26-year-old and is around 5 feet 9 inches. The eyewitness account, used in the preparation of sketches, suggests that he had middle parting.

The other suspect was in his late fifties and had a light beard with sallow complexion and was stoutly built.

The probe into the blast was handed over by government to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) whose Chief S.C. Sinha said a 20-member team headed by a DIG has been formed.

Sinha felt it was too premature to comment on the mail but said NIA was looking at it seriously.

Lawyers and litigants with blood soaked clothes ran helter-skelter and chaos broke out after the deafening explosion in the heart of the capital, which could be heard even one km away. Some complained of hearing loss. Broken limbs and pieces of flesh were strewn on the ground along with shards of glass.

An eyewitness suggested that the bomber may have queued up at the reception gate for entry passes and left the briefcase in which the bomb was hidden.

Court proceedings were suspended for a while before they were resumed.

Blast despite alert: Chidambaram

Chidambaram regretted that the bomb blast near the high court had taken place despite intelligence being shared with Delhi Police in July and the force being on high alert.

He told Parliament that it was not possible at "this stage" to identify the group behind the attack but asserted that government will not be intimidated by terrorist groups and was "determined to track down the perpetrators of this horrific crime and bring them to justice."

Making identical statements with "profound sorrow and regret" in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram noted that Delhi is a target of terrorist groups and when Parliament is in session and during certain other times of the year, the capital is placed on high alert.

"At this stage, it is not possible to identify the group that caused the bomb blast today," he said about the terror strike which was the second incident at the high court in over three months.

Observing that the objective of terrorist groups was to strike fear and to destabilise the country, Chidambaram said, "We are clear in our mind that there is no cause that will justify terrorist acts. Government unequivocally condemns the terrorist attack that took place today."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been on a two-day visit to Bangladesh, condemned the blast as a "cowardly act".

"This is a cowardly act of a terrorist nature. We will deal with it. We will never succumb to the pressure of terrorism," Singh said. "This is a long war in which all political parties, all the people of India have to stand united so that the scourge of terrorism is crushed."

Compensation

The Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs. 4 lakh for the families of those killed in the blasts and Rs. 2 lakh for those injured.

Rahul heckled at hospital

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi went to meet the injured at RML Hospital but was heckled. Scores of people shouted slogans against him as he entered the hospital. A huge crowd surrounded Rahul's car while he was leaving, making it difficult for the Gandhi scion to enter the vehicle. Rahul went on to visit the blast site.

Earlier, Delhi Police's special commissioner (law and order) Dharmendra Kumar said the initial investigation suggested that the explosive could have been planted in a briefcase.

Delhi was put on high alert after the blast. Union home secretary R.K. Singh and secretary (internal security) in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) U.K. Bansal went into a huddle with other senior officials of the department.

Calling it a medium intensity blast, Bansal earlier said that the national capital has been put on high alert following the terror attack.